It's just several days post the Bitcoin halving and things are already looking like we are in peak bull market sentiment. Leading decentralized protocols exploding in TVL are being scrutinized, memecoins are getting listed on perpetual exchanges, and Crypto Twitter might have just made one intern's best day ever. Welcome to Crypto Weekly!
Top Story
Crypto Intern Fired For Tweeting. Community Sends Him $300K
On Tuesday, Polymarket, a decentralized world events betting platform, announced on X (Twitter) that they are deleting recent tweets that contained the word "Retardio", and that they are firing the intern behind them. The crypto community wasn't pleased and it went full force against the protocol, stating that "they don't know who their customer base is", and "they made 95% of the community angry instead of 5% that might've been offended".
Here is what happened later that day:
- The intern was offered dozens of new positions in crypto projects
- One user sent him $312,870 on Solana (originally insisted on $500k)
- The woman from the HR department that fired him, messaged him to come back
Market Updates
Restaking Protocol Renzo De-Pegs After Tokenomics Release Backlash
Yesterday, Renzo - the second largest liquid restaking protocol (33.5% market share) with over $1M in Ethereum staked - announced the release of its $REZ token and airdrop plan in partnership with Binance Launchpool. The tokenomics revealed a less than 5% allocation for the community, and the diagram was inaccurately charted, failing to represent the real share for each group. This backlashed hard:
- Crypto Twitter got flooded with creative pie diagrams
- People started selling their Enzo restaked ETH ($ezETH) as a protest
- $ezETH de-pegged from ETH, dropping to approximately $700 before recovering
- Over $340M in leverage looped on GearboxProtocol got liquidated
Memecoins and AI Tokens Lead Altcoin Rally
In the post-halving market heat, altcoins have begun their rally, with memecoins such as Popcat (+243.7%) and Bonk (+78.9%) grabbing attention. Recent news, such as the listing of $WIF and $PEPE on Coinbase's international perpetual futures, served as some of the catalysts.
Additionally, AI coins, such as Arkham and Fetch are gaining traction to challenge the top narrative, while RWA coins, led by $ONDO are gradually picking up their pace as well.
Global Adoption Sprinting Back To Peak Numbers
Many macro movements are happening outside of the niched crypto space. While some of them might not sound exciting to crypto natives, they are still key in pushing global adoption and attracting more retail to the market. Here are some of the most recent headlines:
- ETFs: BlackRock joins the elite ETF club with 70 straight days of inflows
- Companies: Tesla didn't sell Bitcoin holdings despite a plunge in Q1 earnings
- South America: Venezuela to accelerate crypto usage in response to oil sanctions
- U.S. President Candidate: RFK wants the country's budget on-chain
- Asia: Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs to begin trading on 30th April
MORE BITE-SIZED STACKS
Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Hashrate Mining Difficulty At All-Time-High
- Leverage Is Dying. Can Spot Lead This Market Pump?
- Twitter Founder, Jack Dorsey's Block Is Building a Bitcoin Mining System
- Mt. Gox's Looming $9B Payout In October Could Weigh on Bitcoin Prices
DeFi
- The Risks Of EigenLayer Looping Mechanism
- Celo Selects OP Stack as Infrastructure for Ethereum Migration
- Shiba Inu Raises $12M To Develop a New Layer-3 Blockchain
- Zircuit Staking Soars Past $2B TVL In Only 2 Months
Crypto Courtroom & Regulations
- US Seeks 3 Years Prison For Binance Founder Zhao (CZ)
- Do Kwon, Terraform Labs Should Get $5.3B Fine, SEC Tells Court
- Ripple Challenges $2B SEC Fine, Argues for $10M Limit
- Bitcoin Mixing Service Samourai Wallet Founders Arrested
Misc
- U.S. President Biden Calls for 44.6% Capital Gains Tax Rate
- New York Stock Exchange Considers 24/7 Trading To Match Crypto
- Airlines Required To Refund Passengers For Canceled, Delayed Flights
- FTC Votes To Ban Noncompete Agreements For Most Workers
StacksOnChain Airdrops Guides Of The Week
- Farm Voyage LXP and LXP-L Token Points On Linea
- Farm Multiple Airdrops At Once Using ZeroLend
- Farm Eligibility Points On The Hyperliquid DEX and Vaults
Tweets For Thought
DISCLAIMER: This content is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as financial advice or any form of recommendation for investment strategies. The information provided should not be relied upon in making any financial decisions. Always conduct your own research and exercise caution when dealing with financial matters.